Fernando Alonso’s Toyota team must be considered as the overwhelming favourites to win the Le Mans 24 Hours race, according to Jenson Button.
Alonso, the two-time Formula One world champion, will make his debut at this weekend’s prestigious event in his pursuit of motor racing’s Triple Crown; winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans.
Should he win on Sunday, Alonso will require just the Indy 500 to emulate Britain’s double F1 champion Graham Hill – the only other driver to have completed the set.
The 36-year old Spaniard will start from pole position after his Japanese team-mate, and former Williams driver, Kazuki Nakajima posted the fastest time in qualifying. The duo will be joined by former Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi.
Button, the 2009 F1 champion who raced alongside Alonso at McLaren, is also set to make his Le Mans debut in the 24-hour race which gets under way on Saturday afternoon.
“For any of us to challenge Toyota is very difficult,” Button, 38, told Press Association Sport. “It is theirs to lose.
“But it is Le Mans and you never know. It isn’t a sprint race so there is every possibility we could challenge them.
“We are ready, and ready to fight, and it is going to be an exciting race.”
Button, who brought the curtain down on his grand prix career in 2016, will race for the Russian-backed SMP team.
They will line up in seventh on the grid. Button’s car, unlike Alonso’s Toyota, is not a hybrid, and he will face series of handicaps.
Button, who announced his engagement to American model Brittny Ward earlier this week, added: “The atmosphere should be awesome. Fans stay up all night, and not many sleep.
“My friends and family are really excited about coming along and I am equally excited.
“The problem is that in between stints on the track I am supposed to sleep, but being such a motor racing nut I am going to struggle because I will be too interested in watching the racing.”
Nick Tandy was the last Briton to win the Le Mans race, when he teamed up with German F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg back in 2015.
